alien abductees prone to false

Alien abductees prone to false memories

It is a widespread story that alien beings have traveled to Earth from

some other planet and are doing reproductive experiments on a chosen

few. If you believe in this nonsense, then you probably have been hit

by "false memories".

The term confabulation is often used to describe the "memories" of

people claiming to have been abducted by aliens. Proposed explanations

of the abduction phenomenon can be found here.

Here's a great article that appeared in Yahoo. The article explain

that we're dealing with false memories rather than evidence of life in

other planets:

LONDON (Reuters) - Do you have memories of being abducted by aliens

and whisked away in a spaceship?You wouldn't be alone. Several

thousand people worldwide claim to have had such close encounters,

researchers say. But in a new study, a psychology expert at

London's Goldsmiths College says these experiences are proof of the

frailty of the human memory, rather than evidence of life in other

galaxies.

"Maybe what we're dealing with here is false memories, and not that

people are actually being abducted and taken aboard spaceships,"

says Professor Chris French, who surveyed 19 self-proclaimed alien

abductees.

Several of the abductees reported being snatched from their beds or

cars by alien creatures around four feet high, with spindly arms

and legs and oversized heads, French said.

Some men said they were subjected to painful medical examinations

by the aliens, during which their sperm was extracted.

Many of the alien experiences could be explained by sleep

paralysis, a condition in which a person is awake and aware of the

surroundings but is unable to move.

Sleep paralysis often leads to hallucinations and 40 percent of

people experience the state at least once in their lives, French

said.

A rich imagination was also at play. Several of the alien abductees

were already prone to fantasising and also claimed to have seen

ghosts and have psychic or healing abilities.

"People have very rich fantasy lives," said French, who is due to

present his findings at a public seminar at London's Science Museum

on Wednesday.

"So much so that they often mix up what's happening in their heads

with what is going on in the real world."